The Dancers in the Mist - Chapter 1

Here is the first chapter for my epic fantasy novel, The Dancers in the Mist.

A link to the book: The Dancers in the Mist available on Amazon, Kindle, and free with Kindle Unlimited.

I've formatted the text differently from the book to make it easier to read on the blog.

Chapter 1

Malachi lay awake as the sound of chirping birds nearby pierced through his grogginess; long enough for him to muster the energy to pull himself out of bed, with a yawning moan. He half tripped as he did on his discarded bedding, which now laid sprawled on the floor. Malachi stumbled his way through his dimly lit bedroom, towards what he hoped would be a cool breeze at the open window. Unfortunately, his hopes were soon dashed by the mornings windless summer heat. It was still dark outside, and the faint smell of a coming storm permeated the air. A growling yawn announced the large feline creature awaking in the corner of the bedroom. 

“Morning Maleo” Malachi said with a contagious yawn of his own. He had come up with her name after he heard that another name for lions was Leo, so in Malachi's mind, Maleo literally meant “my lion.” She had grown considerably in the year since Malachi had rescued her, she was now about the size of one of the lions that Malachi had seen in the travelling circuses, which showed up at Blue Mist Village once a year. Maleo arose then began to stretch, as she did the room lit up briefly as electricity washed over her long fine fur in gradients of blues and feint greens. She noisily lapped up some water from her bowl, then walked over to Malachi clearly wanting to be petted. 

“Sorry girl, did I wake you?” Malachi said as he ruffled the soft golden fur on her head, wincing slightly at the static shock he received as he did, he had never quite gotten used to the electricity that coursed through his new companion. How does one get used to being constantly electrocuted? Malachi thought as he tickled Maleo behind the ear. Maleo jumped up and planted a wet lick on Malachi's face, her rough leathery tongue tingled with electricity; his legs buckled slightly at the weight of the large feline, almost toppling him over. “Down girl, you’re getting too big to do that” He laughed as he pushed her off. Malachi walked over to his desk; on top of it lay a clear spherical polished crystal, about the size of a fist. He leant over and pressed a switch on the front of the devices base. Inside the crystal casing fire moss began to glow its distinctive fiery orange as it absorbed a wispy white cloud of essence.

He pressed the switch a few more times causing the moss to glow brighter. With the room now lit he quickly made his bed, there was basin of water he had collected the night before on his desk, which he used to wash in; when he was done, he simply threw the water out of the window. He dried his mousey brown hair on a nearby towel and then searched his cupboard to the side of the desk for something to wear; he pulled out a simple light grey cotton shirt and dark grey, near black trousers. Once he was done, he wrapped his travelling belt around his waist; the travelling belt had lots of hooks that allowed the wearer to place different things on it. 

The belt slid down his waste slightly from the weight of a small leather pouch he had left attached, its contents rattled slightly as he tied the belt. Finally Malachi attached his daggers scabbard to the belt, its blade already sheathed; a black dragon was burned into its light brown leather and the varnished wooden pommel of the dagger. Malachi slipped out of his room “come on girl, don't make too much noise, no need for everyone to get up early” He whispered to Maleo, who was trailing behind in the room. The floorboards creaked as he crept past his parents’ room. The yurt was supported by a large smooth white horn; Malachi habitually ran his fingers over the family crest, feeling the wings of the dragon with his fingertips. The horn was a trophy; he had discovered in a book of stories; passed down from his great grandfather. 

Malachi sighed, to go on a great adventure like that seemed like a farfetched dream; but one he indulged in none the less. He reminded himself that the book also made the lofty claim his great grandfather was a legendary hero and a member of The Dancers in the Mist a famous guild in Blue Mist Villages ancient past. It’s so unlikely, the dancers in the mist, and its legacy Malachi Jan, ruff farmer. On his adventure to nowhere fast Malachi thought with unintended bitterness. He looked at Maleo, and remembered things were not all bad. How many people can say they had a pet lion, which can shoot lightning out its arse? He chuckled to himself as he gave some dried meat to Maleo, then grabbed himself a quick drink of orock milk from a cupboard. The ochre milk was creamy and tasted slightly of almonds, he used some more of the milk with a bowl of barley oats and dried coconuts slices. 

Which he promptly scoffed down before heading out to do his daily chores. As he left, he grabbed his black leather hooded coat from a rack near the front door, tying it around his waist. He threw on his plain work boots; the heavy, thick dark brown leather boots were waterproofed and had some grip to them; making them perfect for the muddy and often water slicked ground of the farmland. Malachi quietly closed the door behind him as Maleo followed him out. She wondered off ahead but stayed close enough to see Malachi, who began to follow a stone path outside his house, which led down towards a foot worn natural path. He kept his arm outstretched towards the nearby fence that marked the southern border of family’s graze land; wincing every time his foot touched one of the rocks that protruded randomly from the ground and were hard to see in the dim light of the dawn. Maleo walked slightly ahead, occasionally looking back at Malachi.

As he reached the barn, he could hear a distinctive gruff mooing sound emanating from within. “Guess you guys couldn't sleep either” Malachi said aloud, as he opened the barn doors and headed to the wooden enclosure found inside. Six orocks greeted him as he walked into the gloomy barn, they were mostly milling about their enclosure half asleep. The seven-foot tall, wheat coloured, and bull-like creatures had a large shell-like hump shaped body, speckled with red spikes that varied in shape and glistened in the morning light. Malachi opened their paddock and closed it behind him, whilst Maleo wondered off to the corner of the stable to relax on some hay bales. He moved slowly; trying his best not to startle the creatures with sudden movements, he watched the creatures, his legs tensing in case he had to move quickly as he moved towards the second inner gate that led out to the grazing fields. Despite their large and potentially deadly handlebar shaped horns; that protruded either side of their bloated triangular faces, his eyes fixated on the end of the creatures’ tails. 

There the orock most unique feature resided, a serpentine head with a horned nose and spikes beginning on its crown and continued to run up the length of the orocks’ tail. One of the snake heads awoke, its tongue tasting the air briefly before it went back to sleep, the heads were completely independent of the orocks’ main head. Another of the strange tail ends opened its mouth in a yawn, exposing two large fangs that dripped and glistened with a thick purple poison. “Guess you are all only half awake as well,” Malachi said aloud to the creatures, which began to gather around as they realised they were about to be let out. Malachi opened the gate that led to his family’s acre of grazing land, it was also fenced off to prevent the creature’s escape. The orocks all walked out quietly, once they were all out of the barn he shut the gate behind them, then grabbed a shovel to clean up the sparkling mess left behind that glowed with a blue-green light. 

“Such a wonderful way to start every day,” He mumbled sarcastically to himself as he placed the orocks leftovers in a barrel shaped container marked “Ruff.” The container had a unique inner sieve device which he clipped in and then placed the lid on top. Maleo, who had been slumped lazily on the pile of hay watching as Malachi worked, got up and followed as he took the ruff down to river that ran alongside his family’s farm. He collected some water from the stream, then opened a nearby locked shed. Inside was a pre-made solution that contained various oils and tars, which he poured into the water he had collected and began to stir. Once the water was a creamy white colour, Malachi poured it in with the ruff and sealed the container, which he placed in the locked shed. A nearby waterfall caught Maleo's attention, salmon had started their yearly swim upstream, and they had begun springing out of the water and up the small falls that dotted the river, much to Maleo's delight. 

She seemed to have no fear of the water despite the events from a year ago. Malachi watched as the large cat pranced around in the deeper parts of the river trying her best to catch one, to no avail. Just as she started to grow frustrated, she suddenly surged with electricity and a lightning bolt erupted from her body stunning one of the salmon; Maleo pounced on it as it fell helplessly down the falls. “I guess you wanted that one well done!” Malachi laughed as the Maleo took her breakfast to the river shore. Malachi headed back into the shed and took out a similar container he had worked on the previous day. He removed its lid and carefully poured the contents into a part of the river that broke off into a stream. The inner sieve lid did its job and out came a creamy blue liquid as he poured, leaving behind a handful of cloudy blue crystal shards, which glowed dimly from the essence that coursed within. 

Thunder sounded in the distance, and it began to spit; Malachi threw his hooded jacket on as the rain began to pelt down. He placed the shards in a metal lock box and then repeated the entire process once again with two more containers he had left over night in the shed. Malachi's mind wondered as he worked, doing the same thing every day seemed to have that effect on him. He daydreamed of himself fighting dragons and evil witches; magic erupted from his fingertips as he fought; he even summoned great creatures to do his bidding. Malachi found his eyes lingering on a nearby patch of the blue tinted essence infused mist. It crackled and flashed in a full spectrum of diffused colours, as it rose from the nearby riverbank. His mind lingered once more to the stories his father had told as he grew up. “Why are they called the Dancers in the Mist father?” Malachi had asked, when he first learned of the guild of adventurers, “It was said they were often seen fighting in the morning, when the mists were at their peak. They were said to have moved about like a chaotic, death laden dance as the mists weaved around them. Some said the mist even reacted to their will, I guess the name stuck and the stories grew” He had said with a chortle. Malachi had lost count of how many stories his father had told him, about his great grandfather and The Dancers in the Mist.

As he emptied the last of the containers, he imagined himself exploring the deep dungeon caverns that were said to contain powerful creatures and incredible rewards. Malachi sighed, once he was done with the ruff; he washed all three barrels in the stream and placed them back in the shed, which he bolted behind him. Malachi took the lock box back to the house; a few hours had passed since he had started, the box now had seven dimly glowing blue shards. “A really good haul” Malachi said aloud as he made his way up the now wet and muddy path; Maleo followed behind, a second and larger half eaten salmon hanged out of her mouth. Malachi saw his father as he crested the top of the hill, the orocks were gathering around him for their morning clean. 

“Morning lad, why were you up so early? Not that I'm complaining, you finished ruffing already?” His father shouted to him, as he gracefully used shard arts to wash down the orocks. “I couldn't sleep...it’s too hot. Yeah, we got a full tin today dad,” Malachi said as he approached. He watched and smiled at the skill his dad demonstrated with his casual use of shard arts. He had improved slightly himself since the year before, but he hadn't learned anything that resembled the intricate control his father showed with water arts, at most he could push on the water, so it exploded in the bucket. I really have no talent for the shard arts, Malachi thought to himself as he watched his father create a high-pressure hose of water to wash off a stubborn patch of mud. “Ah yes...that is great. Go and give ‘em to your mum, she is heading to the market in a bit, she can trade them in whilst she is there” he said whilst he worked. “Will do,” Malachi turned and made his way back to the house. Maleo stayed outside eating the rest of her fish as Malachi entered the house. 

He threw off his muddy boots in the doorway, then left the lock box on the side for his mum who was making her breakfast. “Thanks luv, up to much today?” She asked, as she prepared her breakfast. “I was going to go out and do one of the village requests” Malachi headed towards his room, but his mum gestured for him to stop. “Don't do anything too dangerous you hear” she said with a look of concern. Malachi frowned “It’s okay mum, I was just going to go and hunt highland rats with Maleo. They've been plaguing the Maize farm apparently” Malachi said, as he headed back to his room. “Very well, just don't go hurting yourself with that dagger your father got you, wish he'd just gotten you a nice pair of boots for your sixteenth like I suggested.” his mum responded, in-between mouthfuls of oats and barley cereal. “Don't worry, I have a spear anyway, my daggers not much help against rats” Malachi said sarcastically as he entered his room, “You’re not an adventurer yet Malachi, you be careful with that thing as well.” she shouted after him, “Really don't worry, I am taking some armour anyway and Maleo will be with me, they're just oversized rats,” Malachi said closing his bedroom door before his mum could retort. Malachi made his way to his wardrobe and pulled out a leather cuirass; the leather was a dark orange, a sign it was made from orock leather. 

Malachi had made it himself by sewing the leather the orocks regularly shed together into a patchwork of over lapping plates, these were then glued to a thinner leather undercoat he had brought. He pulled it on, it felt like he was wearing a tight shirt. It only covered his torso like a vest; so he threw on a simple orock leather arm guards’ he had made, by cutting the sleeves off an old shirt and sewing the leather in a similar fashion. Finally he put on a single shoulder pad onto his right sword arm, which clipped on to the back and front of the cuirass to provide some additional protection. It wasn't enough to protect against a proper weapon, but good enough for dealing with small creature claws and teeth. Malachi threw on his thicker reinforced leather boots that covered all of his shin, then headed back out of his room. He felt like a real adventurer wearing the makeshift armour as he went to say goodbye to his mum, but she had already left to go to the market. Malachi grabbed his spear as he left, taking a moment to admire the weapon he had made a few months prior.

It was slightly bigger than he was and adorned with a twelve-inch-long compacted stone head. If only all my attempts went so well… Malachi thought with a smile. He had compacted multiple stones together using shard arts; resulting in a much denser stone head, after overhearing one of the village hunters talk about the process to his apprentice. Even his father was impressed when he looked over the stone, “I don’t think I could have done better myself lad, those rats won’t know what hit ‘em.” Malachi turned back down the path towards the stable as he head out, “don't you two hurt yourself!” his father shouted as Malachi passed him. His father had finished washing the orocks down and was now cleaning their hooves. He watched as his dad placed a hood over one of the orocks snake head tails, using a hooked tool to hold the vicious looking head back. The hood was meant to allow his father the ability to work without fear of being bitten.

“Don't worry dad, I'll be fine, won't we girl,” Maleo who had finished her salmon and was following behind purred in agreement. “Why does everyone just assume I’ll hurt myself” Malachi whispered to Maleo, his voice betraying his annoyance. Halfway down the path to the stables, Malachi turned and headed down another path that led towards Blue Mist Village to the southwest. Just as the village came into view, he once again turned down another path, which went further south towards the Maize farm. The rain had finally stopped, and Malachi dropped his hood, Maleo gave herself a shake sending sparks flying everywhere.

As he walked, Malachi took out a wet stone from the pouch on his belt and gave his spear head a once over. About thirty minutes later, Malachi crested a hill and Maize's farm came into view. He could just about make out some of the highland rats from where he stood, the biggest were the size of a large dog breed, with the majority about the size of house cats. As the village name’s sake implied, blue tinted mist was beginning to form lower down the hill. As Malachi moved through it, he started to feel more energetic; it always seemed to happen when he did, although he wasn't completely certain why. Perhaps all those stories he had heard and read, had a psychological effect on him. He knew the mist obtained its colour from the essence that leaked into the river from the villages nearby shard mine; that acted as the lifeblood of the village. 

The excess essence that leaked from the mining process seeped back into the land making it more fertile and the creatures that inhabited it larger and stronger. Perhaps I am absorbing essence as well? Malachi wondered as he watched a two-foot-long dragonfly dive into the river, when it emerged it had a small fish in its mouth. Life of all types seemed to concentrate around these natural hot beds of essence. When a particularly strong mist formed it generally brought waves of creatures, some peskier than the others. Maleo began to slow and lower herself to the ground as she sensed the rats. Malachi reached into his pouch and pulled out a thin fish netting he had used previously to catch rats, the net had rocks tied at the ends to allow it to be thrown and keep its shape. 

As they got closer to the farm, Malachi spotted a rat slightly bigger than a house cat devouring some grain and gestured to Maleo to go for it. They had started practising this tactic over the last few months; as Maleo shot forward towards the gestured target, Malachi followed in a slow jog, his spear lowered and net out. Maleo came at the rat quickly from the creatures left; as the rat spotted Maleo it darted backwards into the path of Malachi, who quickly launched his fish net at the rat. The net spun briefly in the air, opened and caught the rat easily. As it struggled to free itself, Malachi brought his spear down on the helpless creature. He grabbed a nearby empty potato sack and threw the rats body in, then continued looking around the farm for more. 

Three bigger rats roughly the size of medium sized dogs spotted Malachi and shot forward ready to attack; Malachi readied himself, unfortunately for the rats they had not spotted Maleo until it was too late. The rats closed in on Malachi and as they were just about to enter Malachi's spear range, Maleo jumped from behind an overturned wagon. She began to surge with electricity that discharged from her fur in a chaotic fashion; but then as she landed a sudden explosion of focused electricity arced in the direction of each of the highland rats, catching them off guard. Their bodies went limp, and Malachi once again moved in to finish them off. “Good job girl,” Malachi ruffled her fur and fed her some dried meat as a treat. “Damn it” Malachi cursed, as he was throwing the rats in the potato sack, one suddenly exploded into a white thick mist; the mist hovered for a few moments before coalescing into a crystal shard that glowed faintly with a portion of the rats essence. 

“The heart shard must have ruptured,” Malachi said aloud to Maleo. The heart shard resided in all life of Terra’nor. “Almost dun, damn, this one will be worth two coppers less than what Maize was paying to get rid of each one.” Malachi said to himself, with a sigh he threw the remaining rat in the bag and pocketed the shard, then he tied off the bag and put it to the side. As he searched for another bag to fill a rat suddenly jumped out from behind a barrel, Malachi raised his arm just in time to catch the rat which bit down hard. The leather thankfully did its job in protecting Malachi, but it would still leave a large bruise in the morning. Maleo bowed her head in apology, “Don't worry girl, I should have been paying more attention” he said as he ruffled her hair. Malachi grabbed another bag then continued looking for more of the highland rats. He found another five in the barn. Malachi took two in quick succession with the spear as the third came in close. 

Malachi rammed the spear butt into the rat’s body; leaving the creature stunned, then brought the head down to finish it off. It was starting to look like all the rats had been dealt with or run off, when he came across a rat tunnel in the Maize's orock stable. Malachi threw down some straw for tinder that he had found nearby, into the tunnels entrance. Then he lit it with some flint and steel he had brought along in his pouch. As the smoke began to build, Malachi heard a rustling sound; Maleo's ears pricked up as suddenly four more rats bolted out of the tunnel. Maleo surged with electricity once again, although this time it concentrated in her tail, she spun and whipped her tail which produced a large arc of electricity, striking and stunning two of them. Malachi caught the third with his fish net, then quickly thrust his spear at the fourth. The rat dodged then jumped at Malachi, he forced himself once again to block with his armoured arm, this time however the rat was large enough that he couldn't flick it off. The rat’s teeth pierced the leather causing Malachi to wince. 

He pulled out his dagger quickly, stabbing the rat which let out a blood curling screech, it exploded into mist dropping a larger shard than the previous one. This time the shard was worth slightly more than what Maize was paying so he pocketed it. “Sorry mum,” he said as he examined the teeth marks in his arm; as he did Maleo jumped up and licked the wound, Malachi winced again and pushed her off. “Don’t worry girl, it’s not too bad, hopefully it didn’t have mox or some other disease.’ He reached over and grabbed some straw to clean his dagger on, before putting it away and then went back and dealt with the three remaining rats with his spear. 

An hour had passed since Malachi and Maleo had started rat hunting, they had filled up three potato bags managing to get four rats in each. “That should be one silver and forty-four copper, plus sixteen coppers for the shard; and ten for that small one...err...one silver seventy-two,” Malachi said aloud to Maleo. “Good job girl let’s go to the guild collection office and get the reward. We can sell these shards as well, not a bad haul.” Maleo walked over to him with a hungry look in her eyes, “of course I’ll get you a large juicy fish whilst we are there,” Malachi said with a grin, she purred loudly in response. He ruffled her head then grabbed a nearby wheelbarrow and threw the bagged rats on. “Sure old man Maize won't mind if I borrow this,” he said as he filled it up. 

Malachi pulled the wheelbarrow behind him and almost immediately dropped it as it suddenly gained double its weight. “Maleo! I can't carry you and the rats” He shouted as a dejected Maleo jumped back out of the wheelbarrow. Malachi began to walk back up the road that headed towards Blue Mist Village; rain had started once more making the already muddy and slick road more treacherous, and harder for the small wheels of the wheelbarrow to navigate. He cursed to himself a few times as its wheels became lodged in the mud and twice slipped to the side. Malachi trudged up what was beginning to feel like a longer road to him, until he eventually came back to the crossroads that lead directly to the village. Finally the rain ceased, the day became brighter and to his relief the heat had dissipated with the rain. 

The village appeared to manifest from the essence infused mists shortly afterwards. Blue Mist Village had been built in the middle of three prominent landmarks that created a natural defence for the village. The highest point of the village, the wedge; unimaginatively named after its general shape, was situated to the east of the village and rose above the mists like a shark’s fin from water. The other two mesa like structures were in the north and west, leaving the wide plateau to the south that was used for farmland primarily. The farms were constantly at risk of being destroyed, due to the being built on a flood plain, but the rich soil made the risk worthwhile for many. The village itself was situated in the bailey created by the environment and added walls. The Enai river ran through the west and northeast of the village at the base of the Wedge and north mesa. 

There was a small river than connected to the Enai that ran from the north-eastern Enai mountain, where the villages shard mine resided. It was from this river that deposits of essence were carried causing the mists to form in the centre of town; combined with the low plateau to the south, it wasn't surprising why the village was associated with the blue mists. There was a simple stone wall that spanned the three entrances to the village, with a small gate house situated at the centre of each with a metal grate protecting the river entrances. It wasn't much to stop a determined attacker, but enough to provide some defence against roaming bands of creatures and raiders. Malachi made his way towards the villages main southern gate house, passing throngs of merchants queuing to enter the village to sell their assorted wares. Each of the merchants paid a trade toll to enter, and had their carts checked to make sure they were not smuggling dangerous goods and creatures into the village. 

Malachi waited as a cart carrying various animals of all types and rarities was inspected, it was likely that many were bound for slaughter to collect their various materials for potions, shard weapons and many other uses. The lucky ones would be purchased as pets. As Malachi eyed the merchants’ cart, he couldn't help but gawk as in the centre of the cart lay a large golden bird cage and within it were a dozen or so fairy wyvern. The small dragons were about the size of an adult’s hand; they had colourful, butterfly like wings, which were adorned with interesting symmetrical patterns. Their colourful feathered bodies made them appear to be half parrot to Malachi, yet the faces had the distinctive lizard like appearance of a dragon. Their tails were also lizard like, except they were translucent; almost like a jellyfish and appeared to be incandescent, it was a truly bizarre yet beautiful creature. The line of merchants finally moved, and Malachi made his way through to the gate, and waited for his turn to be inspected as one of the guards waved him over. 

“Hunting rats again Malachi?” A short, plump, rosy cheeked guard said. “Yeah, Regan, Maize is offering twelve coppers this time, I got fourteen of 'em, except two misted.” Malachi said with a grin.“Good, good, we will have to promote you to town rat catcher at this rate...” Regan paused as he bellowed jovially at his own joke. “There has been a lot of 'em lately, old Maize must be getting desperate if he is paying twelve coppers for the blighters.”

“I found a tunnel in one of the barns, I cleared it out, but he'll probably need to fill it at some point, so they don't come back.” Malachi said, as a thunderclap sounded in the distance. “Oh, great now its gonna piss 'em down, just wat I needed, you best getta move on Mal, before you get soaked.” Regan said, as he tightened his coat and threw on a hood. “Will do, see you later,” Malachi attempted to pull his cart through the gate; unfortunately Maleo had once again jumped into it, resulting in Malachi falling into the deep mud, which had been churned up by all the traffic at the gate. “Girl! Stop doing that!” Malachi shouted towards Maleo who skulked out of the cart when she realised, she was in trouble. 

“So much for not getting wet Mal, will 'ave to call you the mud muncher instead,” Regan said with a hearty laugh. Malachi scurried off after Maleo embarrassed, as the merchants behind him all started laughing along with Regan. Malachi trudged along, in his now mud drenched trousers. The Enai river flowed throughout the village, so Malachi turned to the left as he passed through the gate and headed over to a shallow bank of the river. The water was relatively clean, so he quickly washed his clothes down as best he could. Mist was forming at the river’s edge as it generally did in the town, and Malachi began to feel his aches and bruises from the day subsiding. 

It was such a strange sensation to him, as if his body was suddenly hit by pins and needles, and after they passed his body felt healthier and a little hungrier, as if he had just had a great night’s sleep and now needed to eat breakfast. The phenomena had become more noticeable the last few months since he had turned sixteen. So he decided to ask around about it, but no one else had experienced the same thing or heard of anyone who had. It was clear he wasn't imagining it either; as he looked at his arm, the bruises and cuts he knew the highland rats had inflicted earlier that day, had already clearly faded. His dad had once told him he heard a story from his great grandfather regarding mist derived abilities. His great grandfather had said that occasionally people are born with special abilities; that perhaps were gifted to them by the gods. 

“Sounds like malarky to me Mal;” his father had said in response, “I’ve never seen or heard of anyone with abilities like that it’s probably just a farfetched tale. Like that black dragon he supposedly killed” His dad had laughed whilst tapping the yurts’ central horn. “Probably an overgrown elephant tusk if you ask me.” Despite his scepticism he looked concerned when Malachi explained what he felt. “Malachi, it's best you keep these...feelings and observations to yourself, people don't like those who are too different from the norm, if you keep talking about being empowered by the mists, people will think your mist touched.” Mist touched; was the name given to those who have said to have gone insane, because they spent too much time in the shard mines, breathing in mist and other toxins from the mining process. “It’s okay dad, it’s not like I'm some chosen one farmer, with special powers,” Malachi had responded with a laugh, although a small part of him couldn't help but hope he was special in some way.

More thunderclaps announced the approaching summer storm; it had already begun spitting and Malachi was now completely drenched from washing the mud off his clothes and body. He knew he'd catch a cold at this rate, despite the mists aid, so he hurried along to the guild hall which lay at the centre of the village. Malachi passed the southwestern guard tower; the stone and timber square structure that loomed over the gate, there were similar guard towers overlooking the four walls and gates that protected the village. He then made his way over a small bridge, and through cobbled streets and crooked tightly packed buildings, until he arrived at a second bridge that led into the busy crafting district. 

The guild halls distinctive domed roof was already visible above the nearby buildings as he crossed the bridge, which was packed with merchants, and villagers all trying to get to where they were going, before they too were soaked. The village’s crafting district was always busy, due to the demand placed on the assorted services available by visiting adventurers and villagers alike. There were many famed craftsman and women who lived in Blue Mist Village which attracted regular trade in the village. Malachi made his way to the “K'jardan Smithy” where his friend Siva worked with her dad. He passed alchemy shops, which offered a range of magical potions and elixirs all powered by varying combinations of essence and exotic ingredients. 

There was an enchantment shop; that used specially imbued essence shards, to grant varying effects to armours, jewellery, and weapons. There were a multitude of weapon, and armour blacksmiths like the K'jardan Smithy, adventurers and farmers were constantly in need of new tools and repairs. Which is why Malachi was heading to the shop now, his armour had taken quite a battering of late and could use a touch up. His spear head was also damaged from fighting so many rats that day. As he approached K'jardan Smithy he saw his friend Siva working outside, she waved him over when she saw him. “Catching rats again Mal? Siva said with a grin, as she flicked her fiery red hair out of her face. 

It was braided down to her waist with various finely crafted hair rings she had made over the years woven into it. She was sixteen like Malachi but looked a few years older, she was a head taller than Malachi, at about five foot, ten inches, and well-built from thousands of hours working as a blacksmith apprentice for her dad. Malachi was often asking Siva to fix his equipment for him, which she kindly obliged, for a reduced fee much to Malachi's continued delight. “Hey Siva, yeah there was a lot this time, a few of them damaged my armour,” Malachi said happily, although with a hint of annoyance that the armour was going to cost him more money to repair. “I can't believe your shoddy; patch job armour even works! Mal, you look like a spiky tangerine! you should get some proper gear before you get seriously hurt,” Siva boomed with a sly grin. Malachi winced at the remark, “well it worked…kinda, I can just about afford the repairs for the arm guard, and could you sharpen and straighten my spears head, it dulled a bit and there is a slight bend at the tip,” Malachi said. 

“That's what he said,” bellowed a hearty gruff voice from inside the shop, “Dad, stop with your innuendo, you perv!” Siva said although grinning widely herself. Malachi went bright red, then handed over his spear and arm guards the rat had pierced, with three silver coins, which amounted to all his current savings, except for a separate amount he'd saved up for the adventurer’s test. “Thanks, Siva. I'll collect it on the way back.” Malachi said, “Sorry Mal, I can get it done, but it won't be until tomorrow; we had a big order of nails come in from the mine, apparently a crate was washed down the river in the rain this morning.” Malachi couldn't help but look a bit down, but he could hardly complain, he was getting the repairs done for half price. 

“That's fine, thanks again Siva,” Malachi shooed Maleo out of the wheelbarrow again, “fool me once, Maleo” he said; as he waited for her to jump out, which she did with an annoyed but affectionate purr “don't moan, you lazy cat, its only 'bout ten am.” Malachi headed down one last cobbled street, before finally coming in sight of the village’s guild hall square. The square was an open space enclosed in a large bend of the Enai river, with the guild council hall in the centre. The hall was by far the grandest building in the village, a circular marble building with a pearl white domed roof held up by twelve ornately carved pillars. 

Each pillar represented the likeness of one of the founding members of the guild council, which acted as a neutral authority for all the guilds in Jan'arra. The statues were also carved in white marble, with each of the pillars were spaced evenly around the circular structure. The founding council members were all considered legendary heroes; with each one a master of their fields. Had the guilds ranking system been around at the founding; they would all likely be considered the top rank, a class S. Malachi headed for the guild halls entrance which was just as ornate as the rest of the exterior. The huge double oak doors were currently open; they were exquisitely decorated with carvings of adventurers doing battle with various creatures and performing quests. 

Malachi couldn't take guild quests himself; as he wasn't registered as an adventurer, but in the entrance hall of the guild there was a separate board for village requests which anyone who was able and willing, could do for a reward. Malachi had a brief look at the board, which was mostly requests for dealing with pests, helping to perform menial jobs, and finding lost pets. As he was looking a familiar voice called out to him. “Hey Mal, I see you dealt with my rat problem again!” Old man Maize croaked; as he hobbled over, with his wife Beatrice close behind, with her head in an accounting ledger from the look of it. “Hi Maize, yeah I got fourteen of 'em, although two misted. I put the rats in your wheelbarrow; hope you don't mind.” Malachi said proudly, whilst it was not actually a guild quest, he still felt oddly proud of himself for completing the request anyway. 

“Oh...there was a tunnel in your barn where they seemed to be coming from, I'd fill it as quickly as possible, if I were you,” Malachi said, wondering if he should have filled it himself rather than expect Maize to do it. “Thank ye, lad. I left thee reward with the guild. A tunnel ye say? Well that explains a lot. Thee little buggers have been hounding me for weeks. I put some traps dun, but then a bunch of bigger buggers showed up. Traps I brought were for thee smaller ones. Thought I'd have to shut thee farm at thee rate the lid'dal blighters were com'n.” Beatrice looked up from her accounting book, “Thank thee gods for you deary, if we had stayed closed any longer thee tax collector was going to foreclose thee house!” Malachi blushed. “It was no problem, ma'am,” he was never sure how to respond to praise. “Thank ye again Lad, anyway we be heading off, it’s a long walk home and thee rain be com'in. Oh, drop off the wheel barra on your wayz back please,” Maize said as they head out the door. 

“Will do Maize, I'll cya around” Malachi said, and then he headed off towards the guild’s reception counter. The guild receptionist waited with a grin, “Hey Mal, more rats, eh?” Malachi smiled back, “morning Claire, yeah I have proof of twelve, the other two misted,” Malachi said with a sigh. “Ahh well, it happens Mal, at least you have the shards, and can recover the shards from these ones as well. Here is your reward as agreed. One silver forty-four copper. Oh and a belated Happy Birthday. By the way, your old enough to register as an adventurer now you know. Have you thought about doing the entrance test? We have a test coming up at the end of next month, five weeks to get yourself registered and ready Mal!” Malachi grinned widely, the prospect of finally becoming an adventurer elated him. “I'm definitely going for it; my parents are okay with it.” He said his grin dissipating somewhat when he thought of the cost of the exam.

“That's great Mal, and you have the entrance fee saved up?” Claire asked Malachi, “Yeah, I've been saving up for the last year! This will give me what I need to do the test,” Malachi said, twenty-five silver, it was a large amount, but he just about covered it with all of the village requests he had done over the year. “Well that's impressive Mal, I figured the new fee would put all the new adventurers off.” New fee? What is she talking about? Malachi wondered, but Claire continued without given him a chance to ask. “Orders from the council, too many adventurers joining without enough talent. So they thought raising the price to ten gold would fix it, twenty-five silver for the admin. Anyway glad you were able to raise that much, that is impressive Mal.” Ten...Ten...Ten...what, Malachi was starting to feel sick. 

But Claire didn't seem to notice his sudden drop in spirits, as she continued telling him about the test. “Here are the registration forms, and a leaflet on what to expect. Claire hesitated before handing Malachi the forms, who was becoming deathly white. why? How can I raise ten gold? How... “Be warned; the tests are not easy Mal, adventuring is dangerous and arduous work, so you'll need to be able to fight things much stronger than rats if you are to pass it. Although I guess you have been if you raised so much gold,” she laughed, clearly not realising Malachi felt like he had hit a sudden wall. And now she is saying the test is dangerous as well? Malachi breathed deeply, then told himself I will figure this out, I will be an adventurer…I wonder how much kidneys go for these days? Malachi had only really taken in some of the stark reminder at what awaited him on his chosen path, but this is something Malachi had been dreaming of for years, so it wouldn't deter him in the slightest. 

The new cost however, that would be an issue. On average each year, his family’s farm made one gold and fifty silver, and that was before taxes and expenses. Malachi deposed of the rats as he tried to think of what he can do to make the gold required; using his dagger he pierced their heart shards, the rats each exploded into mist, then coalesced as a small, faintly glowing, and infused shard. Malachi placed the shards in his travelling pouch, then headed outside. The rain had started, so he quickly grabbed the wheelbarrow and beckoned Maleo to come with him as he headed off to the east of the village where the trade district lay, although the prospect of ever spending money again if he wanted to do this test seemed far off.